Page 74 of Cruel Vows

“Rebecca is dying. I need you to get here now.”

Something crashes in the background, sounding like glass shattering. “I’m on my way. Me and Dominic are leaving right now, and I’ll be there soon.”

“Hurry.”

I end the call and toss the phone to the side, focus returning to Rebecca. “If you die on me, I’m going to be so pissed off. I’m never going to forgive you for this.”

She laughs before wincing. “You’ll be just fine without me.”

“Hold on, Rebecca.” I press harder, reaching up with one hand to tap her cheek as her eyelids start to close. “Stay awake, okay? Ellie is on her way and she’s going to make everything better.”

I hope.

21

ELLIE

The bloodstill staining my fingertips is going to be there forever, even with the copious amount of scrubbing with a bristle brush I’ve done.

I take a moment on the front porch, trying to ready myself for whatever mood Sean is going to be in when I walk through that door.

He said that he was going to head home and start tracking down Noah while I stitched up Rebecca, but I think it was really due to the fact that he could barely look at me covered in his sister’s blood.

“Sean?” I shove open the door and shut it behind me with a heavy thud, toeing off my shoes before making my way to the kitchen.

I grab the lemon-scented soap from beside the sink, pouring an obscene amount into my hands. As the scalding water cascades onto my skin, I try to do my best to get rid of the rest of the blood.

The last thing he needs to see after Rebecca got shot this evening is her blood.

“Sean?” I dry off my hands and head for the stairs.

Maybe he’s already gone to bed for the night.

Although, I doubt that. It’s only a little after midnight and he’s a night owl. Most nights, I’m asleep before him, though he sits in bed beside me as I fall asleep, reading his book.

It’s almost like we’re a real married couple.

Taking the stairs two at a time, I make my way upstairs and down the hall to his—our—room.

“Sean?” I knock on the door, listening for the sound of breathing on the other side, or some acknowledgement, but none comes.

After knocking again, I twist the knob and push open the door, prepared for anything that I could be faced with on the other side.

Except, when I open the door and flick on the warm-toned lights, Sean isn’t here.

My heart leaps into my chest as I head out of our room and go to the one I used to sleep in, pushing open the door.

Please don’t let him be in here like I was.

A viselike grip wraps around my lungs, squeezing the air from them as I force myself to step inside the room I haven’t been in for days.

It’s been put back to normal, the blood gone, and the broken glass swept up, but it still feels like I’m in the middle of the floor with fresh initials carved into my back.

My breath catches in my throat as I cross over to the bathroom, but he isn’t in there either.

I hurry down the stairs and to his office, thinking that if he isn’t in either bedroom, he has to be there. He did say that he was going to try to track down Noah. It would make sense for him to be in there.

However, when I get to the room, it’s empty just like the others.

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